Now this is something different – a game for Kinect aimed squarely at adults. Gore, horror, action and the chance to explore a game world in 3D using Kinect – this all sounds pretty promising. I really like Microsoft’s ingenious Kinect peripheral, but to be honest mine was gathering dust. Ok it came with a fun little collection of party games in Kinect Adventures, I also bought a couple of keep fit titles – but I haven’t really had much enjoyment from it.

So I applaud Sega’s ambition here – to take this new technology and make a no-holds barred, mature, action-horror slash-em-up. To take the House of the Dead aesthetic and craft a new game without guns, instead using one’s hands and feet to punch, kick, slash, bludgeon etc... And at first this is how it looks. The game begins with a quick tutorial set piece. Two characters awaken in a cell – you play one of them and must smash the lock of the cell by waving your hand to break the chain holding the door closed. Then the player must stick their right food forward to simulate walking, turning left or right by turning their shoulders. The level ends with both characters dying a particularly horrible death... really, thinking about it now makes me shudder.

So far, so great then? Well, no. Unfortunately I have to report that the controls ruin the entire experience. At first everything feels very impressive – the Kinect sensor picking up every movement of the player’s feet, shoulders and hands in impressive, fine detail. Even the smallest movements translate to a movement on the screen. But it feels so very wrong. Sticking the right foot forward to simulate walking just isn’t intuitive. Having to turn your shoulders and then turn back to face the television leads to picking incorrect angles. And when the enemies start to descend en masse, combat becomes a frenzied, flailing mess. The punches, slashes and strikes don’t seem to affect the enemies all that much – all the attacks feel weak. So in desperation you hit again and again, as fast as possible...

Your Local Guardian: Review: Rise of Nightmares (Xbox 360 + Kinect)

There’s one section in particular, where the player has to run along the roof of a train carriage that is about to fall into a river. When prompted, you have to run on the spot to simulate running to safety. Running at normal speeds or even flat-out speeds isn’t quick enough, your character dies time and time again. The only solution is to run as fast as possible on the spot and flap your arms at an even quicker, ridiculous pace. Really, I got laughed at so many times by the wife while trying to beat this level – I looked even worse at videogames than usual!

It’s too bad, because the rest of the experience is such a nostalgia trip. The graphics, the story, the vibe of the game is so reminiscent of the House of the Dead series. I had so much fun with those games in arcades and on the Saturn and Dreamcast. But at least in those games, you can kill the enemies accurately, even though the story is told on rails. Also there is no option to play the game with a joypad – if you don’t have Kinect, you can’t play this. At least recent Kinect successes such as Child of Eden allow the use of a pad – for a second-rate experience.

So, with regret, I have to say this is a missed opportunity. Sega really tried to make something original and worthwhile here, but the controls get in the way so, so much – it’s impossible to enjoy it.

6/10

Rise of Nightmares is available to buy now for Xbox 360 – Kinect only.